The Alabama Project: The Civil Rights of Health Care

[Today’s guest post about The Alabama Project is by Cynthia Ryan. Cynthia is one of the co-producers of the upcoming dual exhibition in Birmingham, Alabama. The Alabama Project Exhibition will accompany The SCAR Project Exhibition at University of Alabama’s Visual Arts Gallery during its commemoration of the Civil Rights 50th Anniversary. Cynthia Ryan, Ph.D., is associate professor of English at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a freelance writer. Check out her blog HERE. Besides all that, she also has been quite busy personally kicking breast cancer’s ass for the past 20 years. Namaste Cynthia. *Bows to your awesomeness* as I humbly hand you the microphone, the quill, the keyboard if you will. P.S. thank you.]

Guest Post by Cynthia Ryan

At 49, I’m twenty years into survivorship following my first bout with breast cancer. It’s been quite a ride, made all the more interesting since I joined The Alabama Project.

In September, David contacted me to ask if I’d be interested in writing about the experiences of five young breast cancer survivors from my adopted state of Alabama. He’d traveled to Birmingham and surrounding communities to photograph Leah, Brittney, Melanie, Whitni and Raquel, all diagnosed in their teens or twenties. These photos were different than the portraits associated with The Scar Project. They documented Alabama survivors going about their everyday lives, and all had stories to share regarding their unique journeys through the disease.

Taking on the challenges of survivorship day by day was an approach I knew something about. At 29, breast cancer became the backdrop to everything in my life. While existential questions about the meaning of life and death lingered, I had no choice but to preoccupy myself with the matters of surviving.

As many survivors will tell you, time and energy are swallowed up by the breast cancer experience. Visits to oncologists, surgeons, radiologists, social workers. Arrangements with family and friends for transport to said appointments and assistance with daily responsibilities as exhaustion and frustration settle in. Treasured downtime to heal body and soul.

By the time I reached 40 and a second diagnosis of breast cancer, my plate runneth over. Married with two daughters, 5-year-old Celia and 2-year-old Helena. A full-time job and pressure to keep on publishing. A new city and no extended family in sight.

It’s the getting through the everyday that challenges many breast cancer survivors and their loved ones and that, too often, gets relegated to the trivial. After all, we survivors are reminded to keep our minds on the big picture—completing recommended therapies, accepting a new normal, moving forward with our lives after breast cancer. Learning how to navigate the initial diagnosis and treatment plan and how to reach what lies beyond with our senses in-tact is far from peripheral, though. It’s as much a part of living as the promised restitution that may or may not become a reality for many of us.

Through the eyes of the Alabama women, I’ve discovered the kind of strength that every breast cancer survivor demonstrates both because she recognizes the importance of the life lessons the experience presents and because she must. Painful procedures must be endured. Bills must, somehow, be paid, with or without the grace of health insurance. Hope must be offered to our children. A new image must be confronted in the mirror.

From Leah, I borrow the belief that breast cancer can never diminish our spirit.

Brittney reminds me that resilience is everything.

Melanie’s determination to respond to any challenge inspires.

Whitni confirms that our relationships with those who accompany us on the journey through cancer are precious.

And from Raquel, I am confident that the most amazing surprises are awaiting each of us. We simply don’t know when or where they will emerge.

[The Birmingham Exhibition will premiere January 7 and run till January 31. For more info, check out the press release HERE.]

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About joulesevans

Occasionally radioactive with a chance of superpowers. I use them to fight cancer. Also I write. My book Shaken Not Stirred...a Chemo Cocktail is available on Amazon and Kindle.
Currently I am working with David Jay as The SCAR Project Exhibition Consultant & Social Media Manager.